His Biggest Mistake
by Moonglow gal
Summary: Inuyasha has decided to make a choice. Will he choose Kagome or break her heart? And now that Kikyo has a new soul all her own, will she be the same woman he fell in love with?


His Biggest Mistake

Hi y'all! I really should be working on the next chapter of Silver Linings, but I've had this idea since...July...which is about three months...hehe. This is to 98 Degrees (can't do the stupid symbol thing) and their song, "The Hardest Thing". I really like it, although I'm really not a big fan of boy bands. Whatever.

Disclaimer: I despise these things. I keep forgetting to do them. Anyway, Inuyasha does not belong to me. 60 cool pictures I printed off the Internet are definitely mine. The space in front of the TV every Saturday night at 11:00 pm Central Time is _so_ mine. _My _little TV time. My prrrrecioussssssss... (Sorry, a friend I have just about every class with has an LOTR obsession) But alas, I do not own the real thing.

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(Can you tell that I'm broke? ...well, I'm actually just experimenting with section breakers. I hate those little lines they give you in the edit/preview thing)

Inuyasha looked down at Kagome. He clenched his clawed fists and bit his lip, feeling the sharp fangs poke into them. 'Okay, Inuyasha. Calm down. You have to do this.'

"Kagome...I've made my choice." She stared hopefully up at his face, brown eyes shining with a hint of desperation. He glanced over his shoulder at Kikyo, a woman who looked enough like the girl in front of him to be an older version of her, albeit she _was_ Kagome's incarnation. "I think..." He swallowed. "I think you should just go home."

"What?" she whispered. Her eyes widened in disbelief, her voice bewildered.

We all know I shouldn't be here,  
This is wrong.

"Thanks to my wish on the Shikon Jewel, Kikyo is finally alive again. She has her own soul. So, I'm going to stay with her."

Her trembling hand rose to her mouth. "No...Inuyasha...please..."

And, baby, it's killing me, it's killing you,  
Both of us trying to be strong.

"Kagome, I would make this choice even if I hadn't promised her my life so long ago. She means so much to me."

I've got somewhere else to be,  
Promises to keep,  
Someone else who loves me,  
And trusts me fast asleep.

"She died chasing after me. And then, when she was trapped in our world again, she helped us kill Naraku."

I've made up my mind.  
There is no turning back.  
She's been good to me,  
And she deserves better than that.

"But Inuyasha, I love you. Please, I can't live if I'm not with you."

"I'm sorry, but I don't feel the same way." 'I am such a liar.'

It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do,  
To look you in the eye and tell you I don't love you.

"Oh god..." Tears began spilling out of Kagome's eyes and down her cheeks. "After all we've been through...all those times that she tried to_ kill_ you...you still choose her?"

The sight of those tears sent a dagger through his heart. "Kagome, can't you understand?" He said desperately. Her face would drive him into confessing how he truly felt in no time. He had to convince her. "I love her! My feelings for you two just aren't the same." 'Yeah. I'll say. Except I've got it backwards.' 'Can't I keep my mouth shut? Even in my own _mind_?'

It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to lie,  
To show no emotion when you start to cry.

She slowly backed away, pain evident in her eyes. "Oh god, oh god, oh god." She began sobbing heavily and ran away to the forest, blindly pushing through bushes and tripping over rocks.

Inuyasha stood with his hand half-raised, as if he had made to grab her arm then stopped himself. He stared after her. "I'm so sorry," he whispered.

I can't let you see what you mean to me  
When my hands are tied and my heart's not free.  
We're not meant to be.

His eyes remained glued to the spot in the trees where she had finally disappeared, the scent of her tears heavy in his nose, her sobs pounding through his head. "I hate myself. I am such an _asshole_." He slowly turned and walked back to join Kikyo, his white dog-ears drooped in pain.

It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do,  
To turn around and walk away,  
Pretending I don't love you.

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"Inuyasha!" He slowly raised his head to meet the angry, magenta-eyed gaze of a tall, strong-looking woman with long black hair. "How could you do that to Kagome?!"

He looked across the fire at her. She was sitting forlornly, eyes glued to her toes. A monk and a young fox demon watched her with worried expressions. "It's better for her," said the half-demon in a hollow voice. "She needs to live her own life, in her own time. I can't bind her here."

I know that we'll meet again.  
Fate has a place and time.  
So you can get on with your life.  
I've got to be cruel to be kind.

"Has it ever occurred to that thick skull of yours that she might _want_ to be bound here?!"

"Sango, I can't love her. Not when Kikyo comes first."

Her eyebrows twitched darkly, then she pulled her hand back and slapped him with every muscle she had. "I can't believe you're doing this to my best friend. The woman you love," she hissed. She stalked away like an angry cat, the monk and fox demon following her with wide eyes.

Like Dr. Zhivago,  
All my love I'll be sending.  
And you will never know,  
'Cause there can be no happy ending.

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Kagome stood at the dry well, the portal to her own time.

The monk stood on her left side. "Are you sure about this, Kagome?"

"I'm sure Miroku. It hurts too much to stay."

Sango still had a popped vein on her forehead. "I cannot believe that idiotic little bast—"

"He has his reasons, Sango."

It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do,  
To look you in the eye and tell you I don't love you.

Inuyasha sat silently in a tree nearby. He could hear every word. 'Reasons? Yeah. Stupid ones.'

He heard a sob. The blade that had remained in his chest all night twisted.

It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to lie,  
To show no emotion when you start to cry.

Unable to bear another sign of her pain, he ran off to the village. To his new life with Kikyo.

I can't let you see what you mean to me  
When my hands are tied and my heart's not free.  
We're not meant to be.

It wasn't until after Miroku informed him that Kagome had sealed the well so no one could pass through that the dagger became a permanent resident in his heart.

It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do,  
To turn around and walk away,  
Pretending I don't love you.

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—Two years later—

Inuyasha awoke outside the hut that he and Kikyo shared. He bared his fangs at it, remembering the fight they'd had the night before.

It had started when Kikyo noticed him fingering a rosary around his neck that held a subduing spell only Kagome could use. "You're thinking about her, aren't you?" she had asked softly. When he nodded absentmindedly, she completely lost it. And so began the usual row about how he didn't care about his own wife, just some weak imitation of her.

Maybe another time, another day.  
As much as I want to, I can't stay.

His ear twitched. A footstep. He swiveled around and saw a woman approaching him. "Kagome?"

Her eyes narrowed nastily. "Still thinking about that bitch, are we?"

His shoulders slumped in disappointment. He had hoped that his recurring dream would one day come true...

Of course, Kikyo caught the motion and her eyes flashed. "Inuyasha..."

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Kikyo stormed off. Inuyasha shouted after her, "And don't come back! Go to that lover of yours, Matasen, or whatever his name is! Go torment him for a while! AND DON'T COME BACK!!" A feeling of lightness and freedom from a difficult task seemed to grow with every step she took away from him.

I've made up my mind.  
There is no turning back.  
She's been good to me,  
And she deserves better than that.

But he was still furious. 'How dare she call Kagome a bitch? A slut? A fake? She was the most beautiful, wonderful—'

"**_SIIIT!!!!!!_**"

His rosary glowed briefly, then plummeted toward the ground, dragging his neck and the rest of him along with it. He plunged into the dirt with enough force to break a human's back. In his case, he felt a sharp, familiar ache in the small of his back.

It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do,  
To look you in the eye and tell you I don't love you.

He didn't notice the flash of light or the pain, though. He was thinking wildly, 'No. No, it can't be her.' But only one person held this kind of power in that simple three-letter word, "sit". One person who shouldn't be here.

He twisted his head up, and there she was. Kagome, looking older, more tired, and quite a bit more like Kikyo, but as radiant and confident as ever. And there was the blazing glare that she always sent him when she "sat" him. But this time...was there something...different about her gaze?

"Ka...Kagome?" He peeled himself off the ground and faced her. He readied himself for a volley of "sits" unlike anything he had experienced before.

So he was completely caught off guard when she ran into his chest. He toppled over as she clutched at his shirt. Through her sobs and tears, he heard her say, "Oh god, Inuyasha, I've missed you _so_ much."

It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to lie,  
To show no emotion when you start to cry.

Shocked, he slowly sat up and wrapped his arms around her shaking form, awkwardly patting her back. "What are you doing here?" He fought off the urge to hug her as tight as he could, as if he could make her part of himself and never lose her again. He had to send her back.

"Inuyasha, I've been miserable. I can't concentrate on anything but you. Life just isn't worth living if I can't be near you. These last two years have been absolute _torture_."

I can't let you see what you mean to me  
When my hands are tied and my heart's not free.  
We're not meant to be.

"Please don't make me leave, Inuyasha. I don't care if you love Kikyo more than me. I just need to be close to you. It's all I ask of you. Just to let me stay here with you."

It's the hardest thing I'll ever have to do,  
To turn around and walk away,  
Pretending I don't love you.

When he was silent, Kagome looked up, and received the shock of her life. There were tears in his eyes. "Kagome, I've missed you so much. You have no idea. I couldn't stand Kikyo. She isn't half as forgiving or tolerant as you are. I won't make you go. I won't _let_ you go."

"You won't?"

"No. Kikyo is not the most important woman in my life. You are. Kagome, I love you." Peculiar how the same three words sounded so awkward when spoken to one person, but so natural with another. "I loved you when I sent you away, and I've had a knife in my heart for the last two years." He buried his nose in her hair, inhaling the sweet scent that he had missed so much. 'It's her scent. It really is her, right?' "Am I dreaming?"

"What?"

"For the last year, I've been having dreams where you had come back . Do something that tells me it's real. 'Sit' me again or something like tha—"

Kagome's lips cut him off. He stiffened for a moment before relaxing and pulling her closer to him. When they broke apart, he smirked weakly. "Well. It's...different with you."

"How many times have you kissed her? And how am I different?" she demanded. Her voice was lighter, now that she knew she could stay with him.

"I think I kissed Kikyo...up to five times. As to your second question...I'm not sure. Let me see." He mischievously pulled her into another kiss, the second of many to come.

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Isn't it amazing what the hate of a well-placed character can do to a person's ability to twist plots until they choke and die? Also, you may have noticed that the last few verses are a little... paradoxical. I mean, he's still saying that he can't choose her, but he does anyway. I think of it as the words coming back to haunt him, eating his words, that kind of thing. And I think this is _the_ longest one-shot I've ever written. Six pages!! No wait, second-longest.

Anyhow, what did you think? -crickets chirp- What? I can't hear anybody...or rather...see any responses...now, why would that be? Oh! Because NO ONE HAS REVIEWED YET...._YET_. –nudge nudge, wink wink- Want a hint? Okay, here: Little purple button that says "Go". Bye 4 now then! Sayonara!


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